The WOW factor has returned to Barrhead cycling.
Women on Wheels enters its seventh season with a call for other cycling fans to saddle up and come along for the ride.
The only requirements are you should be 18 and over, own a decent road bike and helmet and have a passion for cycling. Membership is free.
Although an all-women’s club, men are invited to join the Saturday rides.
“We are a very welcoming group,” said Margaret Osborne, a member for three years.
“We would love more people to come out and join us for food and laughter, It’s very much a social occasion. We are a fun bunch of women.”
WOW has about 30 members, with a dedicated core of 15 who show up for the scheduled rides, which continue until September.
Women mostly come from the Barrhead and Neerlandia areas. This year Camp Creek is represented and one potential member comes from Swan Hills.
With the warmer weather here, club members are looking forward to hitting the highways and stretching muscles after the long winter lay-off.
Their season starts at 6:30 p.m. this evening when they gather at their regular rendezvous, the Family and Community Support Services parking lot.
There will be a “meet and greet” session followed by a 22-kilometre ride along the Glenreagh/Northplex loop. The riders will then reward themselves with refreshments at A&W.
Other scheduled May rides include:
• Saturday, May 4, 8:30 a.m. (and every Saturday): meet at FCSS parking lot for a “go-at-your-own-rate Pace Ride.” Expected duration is 45 minutes one-way and back. Men are welcome; and
• Sunday, May 5, 2 p.m.: Thirty-six kilometre Manola Loop ride. An FCSS fundraiser for Barrhead Food Bank. Everyone aged 16 and over (men and women) is very welcome. Bring donations for food bank.
Always a highlight of the schedule, the Manola fundraiser attracted 14 cyclists in 2012, most of whom completed the course in about two hours.
Several other rides have been pencilled in this year, but are subject to change, depending on riders’ availability.
In drawing up a schedule, WOW starts off with shorter rides and works itself up to longer ones.
Osborne said the group was constantly looking for attractive riding routes. Past favourites include Sylvan Lake, Alberta Beach and Seba Beach, a summer village 85 kilometres west of Edmonton.
It was not unusual for cyclists to drive out to a location.
“We love to go out and have fun, bringing along snacks and sometimes stopping off for a picnic,” said Osborne.
“We try to stay together as a group when we ride. Some of the stronger riders may go on ahead, but they will come back.”
“We are always open to any suggestions about where to ride,” she added.
One of the September highlights, said Osborne, was a “mystery ride” when a member would choose a route and the others would follow her, not knowing where they were going.
The traditional season-ender is a “chilly, chilly ride” during the cooler conditions of fall.
Interested in joining WOW or discovering more about it? Contact Lois at 674-6126, Karen at 674-5361, or Margaret at 674-3855.
